Abstract: It is well established that humans possess cognitive abilities to process images extremely rapidly. At GTE Laboratories we have been experimenting with Web-based browsing interfaces that take advantage of this human facility. We have prototyped a number of browsing applications in different domains that offer the advantages of high interactivity and visual engagement. Our hypothesis, confirmed by user evaluations and a pilot experiment, is that many users will be drawn to interfaces that provide rapid presentation of images for browsing tasks in many contexts, among them online shopping, multimedia title selection, and people directories. In this paper we present our application prototypes using a system called PolyNav and discuss the imaging requirements for applications like these. We also raise the suggestion that if the Web industry at large standardized on an XML for meta-content that included images, then the possibility exist that rapid-fire image browsing could become a standard part of the Web experience for content selection in a variety of domains. !9
展开▼
